Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
MCKENZIE
I turn away from the hoist, catching Brenda watching me. I swear she’s undressing me with her eyes. Sucking in my lower lip, thoughts run through my head about how we’re going to be like Adam and Eve floating around on this oversized raft.
My cock twitches at the thought and I reach down to squeeze it before adjusting it into a more comfortable position.
She watches my movement, a light blush colouring her cheeks when she gazes back up at me.
Interesting.
Breaking the moment I state it’s time to go, so we move out of the garage and over to the raft.
I won’t tell her that Matty wanted to send a rescue chopper for me. I vetoed the idea, alleging that I couldn’t take it away from the people who might need it. Besides, I can’t leave Brenda to do this alone. She has made it clear that she won’t leave the animals behind.
Everyone and everything is on the raft now. The water is almost waist high. We had to take our wet clothes shoes and socks off, so we’re wearing towels wrapped around our waists, while our clothes are laid out on any spare space to dry. Thankfully the weather isn’t too bad, but there are thunderstorms heading our way.
Just in case anything happens, I’ve set up the location finder on my phone so Matty and the crew will be able to pinpoint us should things go sideways. When I mention the weather to Brenda she pulls two of those emergency ponchos out of her pocket.
At first, we sit in silence, then as the water rises Brenda walks around the raft checking the animals. Where Bubbles is tied, I noticed earlier that Brenda had added more drums to keep the raft level.
I watch as Brenda moves from animal to animal, whispering to them, her voice calming them down. She places some chaff in Bubbles' food bucket, which she attaches to his railing, so it won’t tip over. She lights a small butane gas stove to boil some water as far from the animals as she can, so she doesn’t scare them, then makes up a bucket of milk-like substance. I help her with feeding those animals that can’t fend for themselves. She allows the cats out for a few minutes giving them a tray to do their business in. Once they’re done she puts them back in their cages. We don’t need one of them to spook Bubbles, who surprisingly has been calm throughout this whole ordeal so far.
She has a towel wrapped around her waist and I know she has nothing underneath it, same as me. This is no time to think with my little head, I berate myself.
“Can I ask you some questions?” Brenda halts what she’s doing and turns to face me. Her face is blank, which makes me wonder if she’s hiding something. It takes a few moments until she nods her head stiffly. Maybe I’m not going to like her answers. Is she some kind of criminal, hiding out?
I don’t think so, but time will tell.
“Okay,” Here goes nothing. “How did you end up at the Salerno farm?”
There’s a heavy silence before Brenda blows out a breath, her shoulders drooping as if in defeat.
“The farm is my inheritance. I only found out a few months before I came here. My father was Gio Salerno’s son. My grandfather left the farm to me. I never met him. Mum gave me the papers, and here I am.” The words pour from her mouth as if she’s been holding it in forever.
I never knew he had kids, or a wife, although I have to admit, I didn’t know Mr. Salerno very well. I was a kid when he died.
“And, what’s the story with the bull?” I’m trying to find a safe topic. Brenda’s face pales as she sucks in that full lower lip of hers. I think I hit a nerve.
“He was my father’s stud bull. I raised him from a calf,” she declares finally. “Dad thought he was past his prime. He was going to sell him to a slaughterhouse.” Her eyes avert mine as she continues. “I couldn’t let that happen, so I stole him and left,” she shrugs as if it’s a normal thing to do. “Bubbles deserves better than being someone’s steak. I begged Daddy not to do it, but he was ready to ship him off to the slaughterhouse anyway,” Her voice cracks with emotion and her eyes glimmer with unshed tears. Her love for the bull is obvious.
“And the other animals?” Surely she’s not someone who steals other people’s pets? “How did you come by them?”
“Santa,” she points at the dog. She named her dog Santa ? “Scratched on my door one day and never left. I asked around about him, but no one knew who he belonged to. He decided to stay with me,” she smiles and pats the dog's head as it strolls over and leans against her as if it knows she’s talking about him. “All the other animals have been brought to me by the townspeople, or Santa has led me to them. The townspeople might think I’m odd, but they trust me to fix their animals, and I do my best. If it’s something serious, I tell them to find a qualified vet.” Her face practically glows as she talks about her animals.
“You look comfortable around them.” I don’t add that she appears to not like humans.
“Animals don’t lie,” she answers stiffly.
I don’t get a chance to ask what she means when the raft moves beneath us. “How were you planning on steering this thing, by the way?” Hopefully, she wasn’t intending to allow the raft to steer itself. If we get caught in a current, we’ll have to contend with snags and floating debris. And if she was here on her own, who knows what might happen?
Brenda points over to two long branches lying at the side of the raft. “Luckily I made two just in case one broke,” she grins cheekily, her face lighting up. My heart stutters at how beautiful she is when her smile reaches her eyes. “I’ve tied the raft off around that tree over there.” She points to a giant ghost gum tree. It looks solid enough, with its thick white trunk soaring towards the sky. The deep green leaves hanging from its branches are a stark contrast against the paleness of the tree trunk.
I hadn’t seen her do that or I would’ve helped. I just hope she knows how to tie a good knot.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again. Matty’s adamant that he should send a rescue team to get us out of here. Once again, I deny his request. There are more people in need of help than us. As I hang up, I realise I’m enjoying Brenda’s company. With each conversation, I feel like I’m knocking down a brick in the wall she has around herself.
She’s not only beautiful, but she’s also intelligent. The raft she built is stronger than I gave her credit for. Bubbles would weigh around a ton, but Brenda treats him as if he’s still a calf. His weight on the raft doesn’t appear to affect it much. He’s standing in place, calmly eating whatever is in his food bag. The bags with joeys in them are in a type of child’s playpen in the centre of the raft, in case they venture out, so they can’t fall overboard. A small cage holds the sugar gliders’ boxes, so they can be kept together, the galah and the cat cages are also inside the pen.
Brenda has thought carefully while building her ark.